Ye Ling, after confirming the coordinates of the spatial rift, retracted his soul power and said to Bu Zhi Shi and Old Yu beside him, "You two have done well. With the world undergoing such drastic changes, you should quickly seek refuge. It's very dangerous to stay here."
Upon hearing Ye Ling's words, Bu Zhi Shi and Old Yu did not leave. They exchanged a look and then bowed together to Ye Ling, pleading, "Please take us with you, Lord! We are willing to follow you to the death!"
Ye Ling was taken aback. "You want to follow me? Do you know those dark creatures are coming for me?"
"If you go to seek refuge yourselves, your chances of survival are definitely higher than mine!"
Bu Zhi Shi and Old Yu said firmly, "We naturally know... However, Lord, you are peerlessly powerful. We believe you will surely turn misfortune into good fortune!"
Ye Ling looked at the determined eyes of Bu Zhi Shi and Old Yu. After a moment of thought, he said, "Very well. Since you do not regret it, enter my small world first. Whether you live or die depends on your fate."
Seeing Ye Ling agree, Bu Zhi Shi and Old Yu's faces lit up with joy, and they quickly thanked him, "Thank you, Lord!"
"Lord, please take me too!"
At this moment, Bai Xuanxuan also flew from the Tianren Tower and requested of Ye Ling, "I also wish to follow you, Lord!"
Ye Ling was surprised again to see Bai Xuanxuan wanting to come along. He then shook his head and smiled, "You may as well go in with them..."
Saying this, Ye Ling opened his small world and took Bu Zhi Shi and the other two into it.
The World-Ending Spirit Fire saw Ye Ling take three more Chaos Sovereigns into his small world and couldn't help but say, "Kid, why are you taking so many people into your small world? We can barely protect ourselves now. If we get entangled by dark creatures when we force our way through the spatial rift later, aren't you worried your small world will be shattered?"
Ye Ling replied, "It is precisely because I am worried my small world will be shattered that I agreed to take them in. Ayu and Ding Dang are also in my small world. With their cultivation levels, if my small world collapses, they will surely die!"
"However, with the care of these three Chaos Sovereign-level powerhouses like Bu Zhi Shi, Ayu will not lose her life if my small world is destroyed."
After explaining to the World-Ending Spirit Fire, Ye Ling flew to Chu's side and asked Chu, "Chu, I'm going to force my way through the spatial rift later. Do you want to come with me?"
Chu shook her head. "No... After merging with the consciousness of the Saint Artifact of the First Heaven, I have vaguely felt a connection with this world. I seem to have become the Heavenly Dao of the Nine Heavens Realm..."
"Therefore, I wish to stay and protect this world."
Hearing Chu's words, Ye Ling did not force the issue. "That's fine. Now that you possess the might of a Creation God, with you guarding here, the First Heaven should be safe. If possible, please help me look after the Qingyue Sect."
"However, if you encounter danger, remember not to overexert yourself. With your strength, self-preservation should not be a problem. You are likely the last hope of the Nine Heavens Realm."
Chu smiled and said to Ye Ling, "Friend, you don't need to worry about me... I am now merged with this Nine Heavens Realm. As long as the Nine Heavens Realm is not destroyed, I am immortal and indestructible. Those dark creatures cannot harm me for now."
"It is you who should be careful. I can sense that those dark creatures emerging from the Chaos Battlefield do not harbor much hostility towards the Nine Heavens Realm. They are very likely coming for you."
Upon hearing Chu's reminder, the World-Ending Spirit Fire wailed, "It's over... Those guys are indeed coming for us! That shameless dog, the Lord of the Upper Realm, has lost all dignity just to kill us! The Emperor Hall in the Chaos Battlefield poses a greater threat to him, so why must they fixate on us?"
It was evident that after sensing the death of the Seven Star Pillars, the Lord of the Upper Realm had shifted all blame onto Ye Ling, determined to eliminate him at all costs.
This was Ye Ling's miscalculation of the Lord of the Upper Realm's resolve to kill him... Otherwise, he could have avoided such elaborate schemes to make the Seven Star Pillars kill each other and simply killed them all, and the outcome would likely have been the same.
Thinking of this, Ye Ling chuckled wryly, "This Lord of the Upper Realm is truly amusing. He doesn't even bother to investigate and has already decided that the deaths of the Seven Star Pillars are related to me. What a waste of my painstakingly devised stratagem. I should have just eliminated the Seven Star Pillars directly. It's a shame I had to act for so long."
Chu said, "What you did may not be meaningless. I can sense through the Nine Heavens Realm that those dark creatures are searching the entire world for the residual soul of the Third Star Pillar. They likely do not yet know what has happened in the Nine Heavens Realm, nor have they detected your presence. You still have time to prepare."
Ye Ling smiled, "Hearing you say that makes me feel much better. At least my efforts were not in vain."
Seeing Ye Ling still able to smile, the World-Ending Spirit Fire anxiously asked, "Kid, you're still in the mood to laugh? Judging by the current situation, the Nine Heavens Realm has been surrounded by dark creatures, and the spatial rift is at the center of the entrance to the Chaos Battlefield. How are we supposed to get there?"
Ye Ling comforted the World-Ending Spirit Fire, "There's no point in you being anxious now. There are a vast number of dark creatures outside the Nine Heavens Realm. If we just charge through like this, it's no different from seeking death. Let me plan first."
The World-Ending Spirit Fire asked again, "What's your plan? Even if we have plenty of time, idling here is not a solution... Instead of wasting time, why not rush into the spatial rift while those dark creatures haven't gained a foothold!"
Ye Ling shook his head, "Impossible, that's too risky!"
"I've thought about it carefully again. The Seven Star Pillars died by killing each other. I didn't participate in their battle. The Lord of the Upper Realm should not know my current situation."
World-Ending Spirit Fire: "So?"
Ye Ling: "So I guess the Lord of the Upper Realm doesn't know that I can use dark power, nor that I can disguise myself as the Eighth Star Pillar... If my guess is correct, then I should be able to disguise myself as a dark creature and approach the Chaos Battlefield to enter the spatial rift."
Upon hearing Ye Ling's words, the World-Ending Spirit Fire paused, seemingly contemplating the feasibility of Ye Ling's plan.
After thinking for a moment, the World-Ending Spirit Fire's eyes lit up. "Kid, you're really smart! How did I not think of that?"
Ye Ling teased, "Aren't you blinded by anxiety?"
The World-Ending Spirit Fire became excited and, ignoring Ye Ling's teasing, exclaimed, "The plan to disguise ourselves as dark creatures sounds quite reliable, but I must remind you, the Seven Star Pillars are all dead now, so you can't disguise yourself as the Eighth Star Pillar, or those dark creatures will see through your identity at a glance! You'll have to disguise yourself as other dark creatures."
Ye Ling frowned, "But I don't know much about other dark creatures. How can I disguise myself as them?"
At this moment, Chu said, "This... I can help you!"